


Baby, It's Better (Down Where It's Wetter)

by Dariary_Absentee



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aquariums, Billy Hargrove Tries to Be a Better Person, Billy isn't actually a mermaid he just has on a mermaid suit, College Student Steve, College student Billy, Future Fic, M/M, Shameless Ogling, Steve is trying his best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 19:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17566259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dariary_Absentee/pseuds/Dariary_Absentee
Summary: Sure, it was a year after he graduated, but he was still in town the year when Billy’s Camaro tore out of the Hawkins high parking lot like the place was going to explode.Everyone assumed he drove back to California, including himself. It seemed fitting since California is ‘so much better than this shit hole.’ From the looks of it, Billy never made it California, he didn’t even leave the state of Indiana.Unless you count the underwater world of Atlantia as leaving Indiana.---Steve is chaperoning on a field trip with the Party, the last person he expects to see there is Billy Hargrove.





	Baby, It's Better (Down Where It's Wetter)

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to have fun with this and try a different writing style/something short. Any opinions on the style or the fic, in general, are mightily appreciated.

This is Dustin’s birthday gift. 

Obviously, he’s going to get him a legitimate birthday gift like a really cool dragon figurine or finally helping him make that potato gun or something. But sitting on a bus for two and a half hours with thirty sweaty, gross seventeen-year-olds is still a gift. 

He’s twenty-fucking-two years old and he’s back on a fucking Hawkins high school bus like he’s a goddamn freshman. 

Mrs. Kruger’s eyes are slowly drilling two bowling ball sized holes into the back of his skull, she obviously hasn’t forgotten the shit-wad that was King Steve Harrington. He’s only here because they were one adult short and desperate. She spelled it out for him, d-e-s-p-e-r-a-t-e, like he hadn’t graduated high school and needed a spelling lesson. 

There’s nothing he can do about it except sip the mug warming his hands and pray to God this field trip ends soon. He just keeps reminding himself that Dustin has been talking about this dumb aquarium trip for  _ weeks  _ and it means a lot to him.

And Dustin technically means a lot to him so…

“Did you know we’ve only explored five percent of the ocean?” Dustin said. “ _ Five  _ percent, there’s ninety-five percent that hasn’t been explored,  _ the megalodon  _ could be down there.”

_ Jesus Christ  _

“There’s no megalodon in the fucking ocean,” Mike snapped, he’s sitting across from them. Jane wrinkled her nose. She hates when Mike says the word ‘fucking,’ or just ‘fuck’ in general. She says it’s ugly. 

He’s pretty sure it’s something Hopper told her to prevent her from saying it, but she’s right. Fuck’s just a really ugly sounding word.

“There could be. How do you know there isn’t?” Will asked. “Ninety-five is a lot.” 

“The odds are in my favor,” Dustin said proudly. 

The odds are not in Steve’s favor, apparently, because he can already tell this is going to turn into  _ a thing _ . 

“Yeah, Mike,” Max twisted around in her seat to scowl at him. “As the only one here who’s actually been to an ocean, it could be possible.” 

“By that logic that means, the giant squid and the Kraken are both out there,” Mike eyed them. “The giant squid definitely isn’t, so you’re wrong.”

“We’ve seen stranger things,” Will said. “A giant squid doesn’t seem that weird.” 

“Yeah,” Mike scoffed. “ _ Sure,  _ there’s a one hundred eighty foot squid out there somewhere.”

“The sea is a cruel mistress with many secrets,” Dustin said, he leaned over in his seat to nudge at him. Technically Steve should be saying something about keep his feet and arms out of the fucking aisle, but he knows better. They’re not going to listen and he doesn’t care.

“Someone shut him the hell up please,” Lucas moaned. “Why does the ocean have to be a mistress? It’s an  _ ocean _ .” 

“It’s tempestuous and destructive and--” Dustin shut his mouth with a click, Max looked at him with narrowed eyes. Jane followed when she caught-wise. “It’s pretty, that’s why. That’s  _ totally _ the only reason. The ocean is just really, really pretty.”

One of these days that kid is going to put his foot so far into his mouth it’s gonna show out of his ass.  Steve held his thermos up to his face and snorted. He tilting back until the last drop of coffee-flavored caffeine hit his lips. He should’ve grabbed a larger cup.

\---

The zoo used to be his favorite place as a kid. Tommy’s mom would corral the two of them into her Grand Marquis and make a day out of it. He can count the number of times he went on more than two hands, and the number of times he begged to go on twice as many. 

He  _ loved  _ the zoo.

And the aquarium is just a ‘wet zoo’ (Jane’s words), so he should love it.

The Hydrosphere in Indianapolis is a damn good field trip anyway, it’s better than anything he ever got. The caffeine kicked in twenty minutes after they poured out of the bus into the brisk open air. The angelfish brought an amused smile to his face. They snapped a few photos, Steve stayed behind the camera for most of them until the kids started begging strangers to get them all together. After a video guilt-tripping them all into never littering again with the standard turtle caught in a plastic beer ring, they made their way to the gift shop. Steve tried to warn them it was overpriced bullshit, not that they listened. 

There was the mermaid show:  _ The Deep Blue _ , then lunch, then they were back on the bus to podunk Hawkins, Indiana; and if he wasn't sick of them by the end of the day, his place for pizza. 

They’re not in the front row, and Steve’s not even mad about it because at least that means they don’t have to wear a fucking poncho through the heat. They’ve got good seats though, the arena is large. A blank screen surrounded by sun-bleached coral reefs and painted waves sits just behind the water decorated with driftwood around the thick plastic bowl. The water is surprisingly deep, he can’t even begin to see the bottom of it even when he leans and cranes.

“I heard about the mermaids,” Max said. “My mom mentioned them once, they do a little routine, spew some facts, do some tricks with the animals, let someone come down and pet them.” 

“Pet the fish?” 

She shrugged, “that’s what she said.” 

“Why does your mom give a shit about mermaids?” Mike asked.

Max’s face scrunched up, Steve thought about reminding her to put on some sunscreen before she burns. She shrugged, “she’s got  _ way  _ too much free time.”

“So she keeps up on the mermaid show?” Lucas asked. “That’s her new hobby?”

“I think they wrote something about it in the newspaper when the aquarium first opened,” Max turned her attention to her new bracelet from the gift shop, twisting it, watching the blue crystals glint in the sun. 

“That was like two years a--” 

“ _ Shush! _ ” A blonde girl turned around and held her finger up to her lips, just her hair scraped back by her headband alone made her like annoying. “The show is starting,” she hissed. Her head jerked toward the arena a foam walkway that wasn’t there before had appeared.

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve waved the obnoxious girl off. “Chill out. Show’s starting.” 

It can’t be a high school without tight-wads like‒“Freakin’ Laney Smith,” Dustin whispered to the Party. ‒Like Laney Smith existing.

Max flipped off the back of the girl’s head.  “Knock it off before some poor five year old sees you,” he scolded “And put on sunscreen, I’m not listening to you huff all the way home if you burn.” 

Max glared at him before digging around in her tote anyway. 

Steve sat back in his chair with his large Mountain Dew (more caffeine for the rest of the day), situated between his thighs, condensating in the late spring sun. A catchy toon clearly based off of every fantasy show TVs got to offer trumpeted through the speakers making half the audience‒including Steve‒ jump in their seats.

“Welcome guests of the Hydrosphere,” an enthusiastic female voice boomed over them. “The Deep Blue will begin shortly, but first…” 

Steve tuned her out, knowing he probably shouldn’t, she’s going over the emergency stuff. Front exit, back exit, side exit, don’t touch the crew, don’t touch the fish. The usual pre-show stuff every movie theater, airplane, and show are legally supposed to do. 

“Without further adieu, the Hydrosphere presents  _ The Deep Blue, _ ” she said. The same theme played over this time with the effect of bubbling water giving them the effect of being submerged. 

“ _ Once upon a time in the underwater world of Atlantia… _ ”

A hot pink tail flanked on each side by rubbery dolphin fins dipped above the water appeared. In the daylight, Steve could see her gliding under the water, two legs hidden in one shimmering pink tail kicked powerfully through the water. Princess Marina, according to the narrator, sat upon the foam walkway with the head of the dolphins on her lap. 

She had seashells in her hair, waterproof makeup that made her cheeks and shoulder shine and matching hot pink lipstick and bedazzled bra that glittered just as much as her tail. 

He wasn’t sure who was more enamored, Jane or Dustin. 

She started expositing about the dolphins, where they come from, how they’re actually mammals, how so smart they are. Princess Marina fed them from a large bucket of fish. They slinked back into the water and then arose again this time leaping through the air and back into the water. Dolphins had always been Steve’s favorite sea animal, not that he really has an opinion now, but seven-year-old Steve fresh from his trip to the Caribbean would have a lot to say. 

No cared that there wasn’t much a plot, they were too busy listening to the factoids and watching the mermaids (Princess Marina, Oceania, Pearl, Myrtle, Pacifica, Aqua, and Misty) make their way through the water all long hair and slim lines until…

“Oh!” Pearl squealed. “It’s Triton of the oceanic guard!” 

“Hi Triton!” The girls cooed and waved. 

Triton had the most ornate tail, it was ribboned with opalescent red and white, spikes flared from his hips dramatically. Triton arrived with large turtles flanking him, as he rose above the water with the same shimmering make-up, this time in red to match his tail. 

Steve figured all the swimming in holding their breath made their act a damaging one, but he was all hard muscles and sun-kissed skin. He grinned, Triton’s tongue peeked out between pearly white teeth. Steve knew that from somewhere. The girls gathered around him as he hoisted himself hoisted himself easily onto the foam, his muscles flexing and dripping with water. Triton shook the water from his hair like a babe on the beach.

The turtles made rings around the bowl of the tank patiently. 

“What did you find on your patrol today, Triton?” Princess Marina asked coyly. The maids giggled with each other as Triton stretched out, flexing once again. 

His skin felt hot watching Triton glow from head to fin in the sun, he could totally understand why Tom Hanks dove into the ocean in  _ Splash _ . He could also blame the begins of a chub on the fact that he hasn’t gotten laid since before finals week. 

“Green sea turtles, lovely creatures aren’t they?” Triton said smoothly. 

They all froze, like some kind of hive mind Steve looked at the Party who was looking at Max. 

“Oh my  _ God _ ,” she whispered. 

“Why does Triton sound like Billy?” Steve asked. 

Triton the Billy look like was still talking about turtles and pollutants and how often they get caught in six-pack beer holders, but none of that mattered to them. The poor, dying turtles could  _ wait _ .

“Why does Triton  _ look _ like Billy?” Will followed. 

“Yeah, if he broke into my sister’s ninety-nine cent makeup drawer,” Lucas said. 

It had to be him. It's not like his abs are ingrained in his mind three years after high school, but he saw the guy naked five times a week until he graduated and Billy and “Triton” have the same round birthmark on their shoulder. 

Max grabbed the pamphlet from underneath her seat, the others, including Steve, who nearly tipped over his watered-down soda, did the same. 

He scanned through all the promoters and ' _ want to know more' _ s and ' _ donate now' _ s until he got to the back where they credited the cast and crew.  

_ The Deep Blue…Cast…Triton… Billy Hargrove.  _

“ _ Oh my God _ ,” Steve whispered. 

Steve looked back at the glittering merman lazily backstroking through the water, strong arms windmilling and flipper gliding on the water while the other mermaids watched dreamily. 

It  _ is _ Billy. 

He thought someone from his high school would say to him ‘how the hell did you get here?’ in a few years when they find themselves in a hospital with their old dethroned king Steve Harrington as their nurse, but there’s a difference between Steve Harrington becoming an RN and Billy Hargrove becoming a mermaid. 

For starters, one of them sounds like the pipe dream of an 8-year-old girl. 

“I can’t fucking believe it,” Max said. Her bright blue eyes were moon-sized.

“ _ Shush!” _

It brought Steve no small amount of satisfaction to see that Laney’s scrunched up face and shoulders were starting to burn from the sun. She’s going to have a very uncomfortable ride home. 

“Shut up, Laney,” Mike whispered

“Shut up,  _ Mike. _ ”

Steve grimaced, he can feel the eyes Mrs. Kruger from somewhere on high. He rubbed at his face, one crisis at a time. Why can’t anything be one fucking crisis at a time? Why, out of all the people on the planet, is Billy Hargrove a golden god in a sleek silicon fin and shining make-up in an aquatic show at the aquarium he just happens to be visiting? 

“Hey, hey, look, I got it, alright? So just turn around and enjoy the show okay, kid?” Steve said before she volleys over the chairs to strangle Mike and then Jane would have to snap her neck or something and then there'd be a murder at the aquarium and they'd be using the exits and Mrs. Kruger would kill him and Billy would be cackling somewhere in the distance in his stupidly gorgeous mermaid get-up.

Laney's lips pursed. “You know you’re  _ barely _ an adult.”

Steve sucked on his teeth and tried not to sneer. 

_ Fuck you. Seriously, fuck you. _

It was times like these that years after high school he missed Tommy because he’d call her small mouthed bitch without even thinking and all he’d to do was nod his head and agree. But he’s out of high school and he’s studying to be a nurse so he’s got to take the high road with Laney fucking Smith, so he grins, literally, and bears it. 

“I’m barely an adult with a chaperone badge so turn around and watch the show, will ya?” Steve said, pointing towards the tank while simultaneously trying not to point directly at Billy or even look at him. 

She hmph’ed and whipped around in her seat

“Mouthbreather,” Jane whispered. 

_ Fucking kids these days.  _

He had a feeling he’d be having a headache soon, very soon. He wiped a hand down his face slowly only for his eyes to arrive on Billy again. Billy’s deep tan and wet, rolling muscles, the v of his hips running seamlessly into variegated burgundy scales.

_ Un-fucking-believable.  _

Sure, he’s fucked around on both sides of the field, but it’s  _ Billy.  _ Billy ‘my existence should be a mistake’ Hargrove in a mermaid tail. There has to be a line and this is it. He is  _ not _ ogling the guy that beat him up in high school who’s also wearing a fucking _ fishtail _ .

That’s like...some kind of messed up, one of the kinds that he hopefully isn’t.

He should be taking a picture to send to everyone in his address book. Billy Hargrove in a fucking mermaid suit with copper glitter on his cheekbones should be the same kind of sweet payback as finding him at McDonald’s drive-thru 10 years from now, but it isn’t.

It feels like torture.  

“I didn't know he knew what a pollutant was,” Dustin whispered making Steve jump. He turned to look at him, “you good?”

_ No.  _

“Uh...yeah,” he coughed. “You just startled me.” Steve took a large gulp from his cup just to wet his throat.

Billy was graceful, his fin slicing through the water, scales quivering with reflected light at each powerful kick of his legs. He watched him wave, beaming at the crowd--everyone applauding except them--, before diving back into the blue water until the driftwood made him invisible. 

That was the last they saw of Triton/Billy until the end of the show. 

Some girl from the other end of the arena got to come up and pet the dolphin, the only person more jealous than Steve was probably Jane. 

 

“So...now we know why your mom knew all that stuff about the mermaid show,” Dustin said trying not to laugh. 

Max glared at him, “it’s not funny.” 

“I think it is,” his smile broke further, “he has a _ tail _ , Max.” 

“A shiny one,” Will added. 

“I’m just glad, the fish people can keep him,” Lucas said, shouldering his backpack. “He can stay right there at the bottom of the ocean far away from us.” 

“You,” Jane corrected. “Far from  _ you _ .” 

Lucas shrugged. “Does it matter?” They lined themselves up to exit the narrow path of chairs and down the steps back into the aquarium where they’d be having lunch. 

“I thought he looked pretty,” Jane said cheerfully. 

Mike looked at her with wide eyes,  _ “you did?” _

Will, Lucas, and Dustin giggled. “Maybe we should buy Mike a fishtail,” Dustin suggested. His eyebrows went up into curly waves of brown hair and his eyes shifted. 

Max gagged. “I think he looked insane.” 

“He always looks insane,” Lucas said. 

“Steve?” 

Of all the kids that had to be paying attention to him, it just had to be the one that  _ reads minds _ . Jane looked at him with her all-knowing eyes and smiled. “Did you think he looked pretty?” She asked. 

It’s really only by the grace of  _ God  _ they were entering the aquarium when a strong blast of A/C hit them all in the face making everyone sigh at once. Steve pretended he didn’t hear her.  

“How was I supposed to know he was a mermaid!” Steve heard Max snap loudly. “He’s been gone since forever.”

That was right, Billy hadn’t even shown up for graduation. Sure, it was a year after he graduated, but he was still in town the year when Billy’s Camaro tore out of the Hawkins high parking lot like the place was going to explode. 

Everyone assumed he drove back to California, including himself. It seemed fitting since California is ‘so much better than this shit hole.’ From the looks of it, Billy never made it California, he didn’t even leave the state of Indiana. 

Unless you count the underwater world of  _ Atlantia _ as leaving Indiana. 

There was a spot in the tiny food court, more of a ‘snack court,’ that had reserved seating for large groups like theirs. It was right outside the gift shop they previously visited and the round, floor-to-ceiling fish tank that every aquarium has. 

The party’s conversation floated in and out of his attention, no one was throwing food or screaming expletives so they were doing alright in his book.

Steve watched the fish while he ate. They swam with the same amount of relaxation as someone taking a slow stroll through the park. Without a care in the world. He could see how Billy got caught up in all the beautiful sea life, smiling people, and shimmering blue lights. 

He probably would too if he were him. 

Steve finished his lunch and stood. 

“I’ll be back guys, I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” he said. “And when I get back you’re all going before the rush, I don’t want you all to be the ones dancing on the bus in the middle of rush hour.” 

They all nodded between looked and eye rolls except Mike whose lips curled, “we’re not toddlers, you know?” He said.

“Sorry, Mike, can’t let you piss yourself, maybe on your sister’s watch but not mine,” was all Steve cared to answer with before walking off. The closest bathroom was down a tiled hallway that leads back around to some more exhibits.

It was a mistake to drink large coffee and Mountain Dew, he realized.  

Steve washed his hands and checked himself in the mirror. His hair was a bit mussed from the gust of A/C and took nothing but a bit of handwork to fix. Mrs. Henderson said he looks happier than she’s ever seen him and that’s probably right. 

He exited through the mauve colored door back into the hallway. 

_ Alright, kiddos, last question. Who’s got one? _

Steve froze. 

Billy’s voice echoed down the hall followed by the high-pitched voices of children screaming  _ Me! Me! Me! _

The normal part of Steve’s brain thought gleefully: _ now this I’ve got to see,  _ w he fucked up part thought:  _ I’ve got to see him.  _ S omewhere between normalcy and fucked up, his legs agreed to start moving in the direction of all the commotion. Steve stopped at the corner of the hallway, he leaned against it. 

Stealthy like a ninja. 

He was just in time to see Billy reach one dripping arm over the glass of the tank to point at a black-haired boy in overalls. 

“What secrets of the ocean do you wish to know, tiny land lover?” Billy said. His grin, one Steve could’ve sworn he knew, was softer and more playful than it ever was in Hawkins. “You can ask me anything except how I go to the bathroom, that’s a secret.”

The kids erupted in giggles

The little boy twisted his fingers around each other. All their wide eyes were on Billy with awe shining on their young faces. Most of them watched his tail float lazily through the water, practically hypnotized. 

“Do you fight sharks?” The boy asked shyly. 

Billy chuckled. His eyes were glittering again. “ _ Well _ ,” he said slowly, thinking. “I try not to.

“Cause they’re scary?” Another kid yelled.

“Cause they’re dangerous?” One girl asked.

Billy shook his head still smiling warmly at the kids. “Yes and no,” he said. “There are nearly 500 different kinds of shark, some of them are dangerous and some of them mind their own business. They don’t like to chow down on humans or merfolk as much as you’d think. ” 

The children chorused loud ‘oh’s in unison. 

“Alright boys and girls,” their teacher said with the small clap of her hands. “Let’s all say thank you and goodbye to Triton.” 

They all yelled THANK YOU at the top of their tiny lungs. Loud enough to make Steve flinch where he stood. Billy looked used to it. He grinned bowing a little. 

“You’re quite welcome, little land lovers.”

The teacher lined them up. Billy stuck his hand out of the tank again and as they went by each of them got their very own dripping wet high-five. Steve’s never seen a group children more excited about a high-five in his life. Billy waved until they were completely out of sight. 

He hated that suddenly he was regretting not paying more attention to Billy in high school than he had. Physically he hadn’t changed too much, personality wise he’d gone from the kid with a unibrow and bad underbite to well... _not that_.

 

The double doors swung closed behind the school group. Steve expected the facade to drop for eyes to go back to their wild, angry look and his grin to be mean, there was no one else around in the little hallway but them. 

Billy sighed, laced his fingers and stretched them over his head until bones cracked. Steve watched him float onto his back and sigh again, his tail stretched out kicking just as slowly as it had before. 

“Am I dreaming or is that you, Harrington?” Billy asked into the open air. 

Steve went rigid. 

He should leave, he should  _ definitely  _ leave. He shouldn’t even be here, he’s supposed to be chaperoning. 

Shit.

He’s pretty sure those are the exact words he said before beating him bloody that one night. Steve could do him one better: “yeah, it’s me don’t cream your...tail.”

Billy laughed. 

“You got a bad haircut, Harrington?”

Steve heard the water sloshing from around the corner. The sound of Billy’s hands pedaling him around the tank. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “No?”

“Then why are you hiding?” Billy’s voice was sing-song. Steve could practically see the familiar grin spreading across his skin, the tongue that used to always swipe across his bottom lip. 

_ Because you were the biggest asshole I’ve ever met.  _

Steve sighed loudly. 

Time to walk the proverbial plank. 

Old habits die hard. He came around the corner with his hands on his slanted hips, head cocked forward slightly. They stared at each other for moment, or rather, Billy stared at him. Steve stared at the shimmering highlight of copper across Billy’s wet, chiseled face. 

Billy smiled, slow and syrupy. 

He truly was a vision out of a fantasy movie, arms perched and folded on the thick plexiglass tank. His dark lashes, nearly black from water, fluttered. 

All the features that drove him wild in high school were there, but he’d grown too. Shoulders a little wider, a dip between two pectorals that peaked out of his plain T-shirt, a ghost of stubble that “high school Steve” wouldn’t dare have even if he could. 

He looked tired like he had before but happier and more self-assured. Billy’s own ego couldn’t help but think his disappearance had probably helped with that.

“ _ Ahoy _ ,  Harrington,” he cooed. 

Steve choked. He thought he’d never have to hear Billy or anyone say those words again.

Billy doesn’t seem at all ashamed he’s been caught by an old high school classmate in a mermaid suit. The way he acts is like they ran into each other at a fast food joint and he’s not the one behind the counter. 

Steve briefly thinks if he looked as good as he does, he wouldn’t be ashamed either. 

“So, Hawkins shelled out to send some of their best and brightest out here,” Billy drawled. His muscles tightened as he pushed off the glass, propelling himself back again. “But that doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.” 

Steve held up the ‘chaperone’ badge, not meeting Billy’s playful gaze. The guy really is hard to look at when he’s so damn unabashed. “They needed someone and I’m home for the summer so…” he trailed off.

“And those nerds have you wrapped around your finger still,” Billy supplied. 

“Yeah, something like that.” 

He seemed to be thinking. He sliced through the water without any trouble.  “I saw Max next to you,” he muttered. 

Steve answered the question he hadn’t asked. “She’s doin’ alright,” he said. “She aced the SAT, don’t know if you care, but you know...she was thrilled about it.” 

He nodded once, a quick chin lift of understanding. “Good.” 

Steve watched him. His hair, a dark shade of gold, floated in the clear water. Here there are catching up like this isn’t one of the weirdest scenarios on the planet, like Billy hadn’t hit him over the side of the head with a plate and threatened a then-12-year-old boy.  Billy was the bane of his existence, a crackling firework of rage and unchecked emotions. 

Steve wouldn’t think these two people are the same person. 

“Okay, I have to ask, man” Steve coughed. He worked up the nerve to ask. “How did you get here? And what the hell happened to? You were...” 

“ _ Am _ ,” Billy scoffed. “Before you start calling me a saint just cause I’m pretty as an angel and don’t punch kids in the face, I am _ still _ awful, Harrington.” 

“You can’t be all that bad,  _ Triton, _ ” Steve raised an eyebrow. “ _ God _ , you’re wearing a tail in case you haven’t notice. I’m allowed to be curious!” 

Steve is still the same high-strung guy he remembered him being high school, a bit of a spazz really. He could never really understand how someone with morals so high off the ground could possibly run a high school.

Billy rolled his eyes skyward. He’s told this story a million times, whenever he has to talk about his job there’s also the ‘what do you mean by a  _ merman _ ?’ And ‘how the hell did you land that gig?’ Usually followed by a ‘so, do you think I could be one?’

“My internship brought me here for a while, when that was over they were looking for a male mermaid, cause y’know, _diversity,_ or whatever. So, I tried it out, I’m a strong swimmer, after some training, I could hold my breath longer than most people, and…” Billy grinned wickedly, running a silk hand over the valley of his abs, putting them right on display for Steve to gaze at unabashedly. “I look the part.” 

Steve’s throat clicked dryly when he swallowed. 

_ Clearly.  _

“My eyes are up here, Harrington,” Billy laughed. His tongue managed to do that thing he used to in high school, dart out just at the fullest part of his and lick a little to right while he laughed, almost like he does it without thinking now. 

Steve’s cheeks flushed.  “You just  _ pointed  _ at them. And that doesn’t work for us anywhere.” 

Billy’s eyes were dancing on him with some hidden emotion. He perched his arms back on the plexiglass, this time with his fist digging into his cheek. “Sure, yeah,” Billy said facetiously. “Doesn’t work for  _ us _ at all.” 

He wondered how much effort it’d be to wrestle Billy’s lower half out of that suit, and then he decided after the field trip he’s going to drown himself in holy water. Maybe he’ll be like Tom Hanks and just walk into the nearest body of water and drown because the ending of  _ Splash!  _ was definitely an allegory for suicide and no one can tell him otherwise.

Steve’s mind grappled for anything other than the water dripping down Billy’s strong forearms. “So,” he had no clue what to do with his arms that were awkwardly wrapped around his own waist. He coughed. “Internship?” 

“Music technology,” Billy supplied. “I help set up the audio in this place.” He watched Billy index finger point around the speakers hooked up in most of the corners in the room. 

Steve nodded, dumbfounded following the motions of his hands rather than where they were pointing.

_ Was he always this smart? _

Steve’s eyes lowered from the digits back to Billy’s sparkling face. “That’s impressive.” 

He grimaced, shook his head. “Not really.” His grimace shifted into a crooked smile. “Not as impressive as you, heard from a little birdy you were out here saving lives...or at least trying.” 

Steve blinked. 

Who from Hawkins high knew he was going to school for nursing. Who knew Billy still? Had they asked about his job? Did Billy  _ ask  _ about him? 

Steve laughed softly, his hand went up into the long hairs at the back of his neck. “Yeah, turns out my higher purpose isn’t slinging ice cream.” 

Billy laughed that same genuine laugh he’s heard all day. The emotion that Steve couldn’t name was easier to decipher now, he’s seen it on nearly every girl in Hawkins at some point. He’s pretty sure he’s seen the look on Billy’s face before but buried under a wicked look and burning eyes. 

_ Steve Harrington is so cute. _

He felt his stomach rustle, the feeling tickling all the way up to his brain and down to his toes. His cheeks felt warm again as his eyelids drooped slightly and a sweet smile spread across his face without thinking. 

_ And Billy Hargrove is...cute too.  _

The door farthest from them opened. “Alright, tourist, time to go,” a man said rolling in a large, empty wheelchair. 

Steve realized he meant him. 

“I’m making a friend Merrill, we went to high school together,” Billy said, gesturing to Steve. 

Merrill looked at him with an eyebrow raised. He short and wide in the middle with large, muscular arms and a graying mustache like a broom’s end. His navy blue polo was nearly black down to the middle of his round gut.

Steve waved awkwardly. “Yeah...we went to high school together.” 

His eyes went skyward, the burly man grumbled something to himself. Steve wondered if the man’s sole job was wheeling the merfolk around the Hydrosphere in wheelchairs. 

_ What job that would be.  _

“Whatever you say, Hargrove, time to get out of the water and into the chair, so we can get these sea legs offa ya,” he had the same gruff exhaustion in his voice as Hopper. 

Steve looked down at his watch. 

He should probably be getting back to the kids. He’s sure he heard loud chattering outside the double doors. They’re probably lining up for the bathroom before they leave. Billy didn’t seem to mind that this was the end of their odd little exchange. His heart sank. He’ll be thinking about it the entire bus ride back to Hawkins. 

“I’ll see you around, Billy,” Steve said. He shouldered the flimsy backpack hanging from his shoulders like he was ready to go. 

“Hold on a sec, Harrington,” Billy said. “Hey, Merrill you got a pen or a marker or something?” 

The man sighed, patting around his front and back pockets, still grumbling to himself about kids and something about his aching back. He pulled out a black marker and handed it to him. 

Steve offered up his arm without really even thinking, it was like that was his only possible option but to let Billy’s wet hand slip around his wrist and write up the length of his forearm. 

He focused on the warmth from Billy’s hand gripping his wrists and the drag of the marker against his skin. Steve held his breath like maybe he was expecting him to draw a dick or something equally juvenile.

Billy looked down at the numbers written up Steve’s arm, examining it before letting go of his hand. “ _ Don’t _ smudge it, Harrington.” It was an invitation for him to keep it, for him to call him. Billy  _ wants  _ him to call him. 

_ Oh, I will be. _

Steve nodded, his eyes felt like they were probably blown wide. 

He nodded again and again like a bobblehead. “I...yeah, I won’t.” His mouth wasn’t working, but Billy was smiling so it didn’t really matter. 

He was really smiling, genuine and bright. A smile Steve wished he’d known when they were in a high school, a smile he probably would have been so head over heels for he wouldn’t know what to do. 

Billy waved at him. “I’ll see you around, land lover.” 

Things have a funny way of working out though. This is the right time and the right place, he knows what to do know. 

He smiled back. “You can count it,  _ Triton. _ ” 

\--

Steve sat back down in his same seat in the middle of the bus. The party was loudly debating who would win between the Kraken and the Megalodon. Mrs. Kruger glared at him most of the ride for disappearing earlier, but that hardly mattered. 

His mind was on a certain man who left the land for the sea. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to see what Billy's tail looks like!  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/130885932897026536/?lp=true
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!
> 
> (p.s. I'm so in love with Nurse!Steve)


End file.
